Kuala lumpur: The summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) opened Sunday in Malaysia, where leaders welcomed Timor-Leste as its 11th member, marking the bloc’s first expansion in 26 years. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is hosting the 47th summit, which runs through Tuesday. Malaysia is the chair of the bloc, which is the fifth time since 1967.

According to Anadolu Agency, at the opening ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, leaders attended a signing ceremony to officially admit Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, which first applied for membership in 2011 and was granted observer status in 2022. ASEAN, a regional organization founded in Bangkok on Aug. 8, 1967, consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is hosting leaders from ASEAN member states, along with leaders and top officials from the US, South Africa, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea, and other key partners, for the summit under the theme, ‘Inclusivity and Sustainability.’

Anwar said in his opening remarks to the summit, ‘Timor-Leste’s place here completes the ASEAN family – reaffirming our shared destiny and deep sense of regional kinship. Within this community, Timor-Leste’s development and its strategic autonomy will find firm and lasting support.’

US President Donald Trump is attending the summit where, alongside Anwar, he will attend the signing of a peace accord between Cambodia and Thailand, which saw deadly border clashes in July. A nation of 1.3 million people, Timor-Leste gained independence in 2002 and is the first nation to join the bloc of Southeast Asian nations since Cambodia’s admission in 1999.

Reflecting on Malaysian chairmanship of the ASEAN this year, Anwar stated, ‘Leadership is never a matter of routine; it is a matter of choice: to define priorities, renew ASEAN’s sense of purpose, and chart a course worthy of our peoples’ hopes.’